Introduction
Social media platforms continue to blossom and are attracting increasing numbers of visitors 24/7/365. These visitors are of all ages and come from all walks of life. This offers new business opportunities galore and emphasises why any company wishing to succeed must treat social media marketing seriously.
By ignoring or placing low importance on this marketing medium you are seriously missing out on opportunities that will leave you trailing the opposition.
Here are six reasons why:
- Raising brand awareness:
- Word-of-mouth:
- Brand loyalty increases:
- Raising brand status:
- Social media marketing must be a two-way highway:
- The competition is already taking advantage:
Raising brand awareness:
Increasing brand awareness is a must. Your web presence is one avenue and search engine optimisaton will ensure that people looking for the products or services you offer have a link to reach your web presence. As for social media platforms, you should already have a clear picture of your target audience and which platforms will be most effective in terms of placing advertising. In-depth research in this respect will pay healthy dividends.
Word-of-mouth:
The majority of ‘final’ decision in terms of which brand a consumer will purchase is influenced by what they hear from friends or on-line communities they are part of. Those who have purchased a particular brand and are pleased with their decision are eager to share this information.
This positive word-of-mouth sharing needs to be taken advantage of and social media platforms are the perfect vehicle to take advantage of this leverage. In principal this concept offers exponential brand awareness.
A purchaser of your brand tells friends, these friends tell other friends who then tell others. Concentrate on encouraging and leveraging word-of-mouth marketing and you will see increased conversions leading to increased sales numbers.
Brand loyalty increases:
Attractive brand pages on social networks capture people’s attention. Once visitors like what you are offering, interaction begins. Maintaining this dialogue will give visitors a connection with your brand and a relationship that will strengthen into brand loyalty.
Raising brand status:
The more people you involve in terms of talking positively about your brand, the greater its value, status and influence will appear to new visitors. There are a variety of ways to achieve this; two sure-fire ways are:
- Regular, frequent and informative posts
- Connecting with influencers and industry professionals within your market segment
Major on these two pointers and you will see your brand grow in status and respect. Do not underestimate the value of influencer marketing strategy or how seriously prospective customers take the word of market experts.
Social media marketing must be a two-way highway:
Social media platforms are not channels where you can simply post promotions and sales pitches and leave it at that. You need to make these platforms two-way highways that will allow you to build and preserve existing customer relationships as well as nurturing potential customers. This should be viewed as a never-ending process and encompass the ‘before, during, and after’ sales cycle.
The competition is already taking advantage:
If you are not yet totally active in terms of social media marketing or are simply dipping your brand in and out of it, please take a look at what your competitors are doing. The companies in your market sector that succeed are the ones who treat social media marketing seriously.
That's all for now:
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